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A/N: Tails is running out of time! Will he be able to find the antidote! Read on, brave reader!
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FOUR:
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Tails soared over the vast countryside and finally arrived near Robotnik's Fortress. He stayed within the cover of the clouds in the sky and pulled out a pair of binoculars. He spied around until he located an open window, "Cool!"
Tails put away his binoculars and zoomed down towards the window. He glanced around and didn't see any robots or surveillence cameras. He poked his head into the window and looked around the room. No one was in the small room, so Tails decided to go ahead and slip in. He shut the window behind himself and glanced around at the few cardboard boxes that lined the room. He guessed it was some kind of storage room.
Quietly, Tails headed for the door and pressed his ear up to it and listened. He didn't hear anyone in the hallway, so he cautiously opened the door and poked his head out. The hallway was clear, so he sprinted down the hall.
His heart began to beat faster and faster - he couldn't believe he had made it this far into the fortress without running into any trouble! Sonic was way wrong, Tails could handle this mission himself - no sweat! He smiled to himself as he slowly peered into a cross-hallway.
Again, there seemed to be absolutely nothing to block his way. He turned left and continued on, wandering further into the fortress.
* * * *
A few minutes later, Tails heard some voices coming towards him down another hallway. He instinctively leaped into the air and flew up to the ceiling as Scratch and Grounder came around the corner.
"Can't we take a break yet?" Grounder whined, "We've been around the fortress twice already and my treads are killing me!"
"No! Besides, Dr. Robotnik said we only have to be on patrol 'til 'you-know-who' shows up," Scratch replied.
Their voices died out as they rounded another corner and kept going. Tails landed back on the floor, "Ha! They were so busy they didn't even notice me!" Tails exclaimed to himself.
Tails decided to go the way they came from. He seemed to remember the lab being somewhere in the center of the fortress. Of course the fortress gets destroyed practically every week, he thought, so it could have moved around.
The hallway finally emptied into a volumous hall with many corridors and doors leading into it. Tails passed by all the Robotnik family portraits and all the egg-shaped decor towards two large arched double doors. He checked around and, seeing no-one, opened one door just a crack and looked inside. Yes! It was the lab!
Before Tails entered, he quickly scanned the room carefully for any badniks. He didn't see any, so he quietly pushed the door open and scampered in, the door swinging shut behind him.
The lab was full of tables containing different experiments along with piles of robots and machines scattered between them. Tails' sharp eyesight spotted the Pickmeup flower from Professor Von Schlemmer's book sitting on a table in the middle of the room. Tails scurried towards it and tried to grab it, but, surprisingly, his hand went completely through it.
"Huh?" he tried to grab it again, but missed. He then tried to touch the table it was sitting on and his hand went through that too, "What's going-"
Robotnik snuck out from behind a large machine and chuckled evilly. Tails whipped around and saw Robotnik at the console pressing a green button.
Tails started to run when suddenly the objects in front of him dissolved into nothing and a huge metal cage crashed down on top of him, "Hey!" A sudden burst of green gas flooded the cage and Tails toppled over, instantly knocked out.
* * * *
Tails groaned. His head felt like someone had been throwing bricks at it. He strained to open his eyes, and when he succeeded, he found he was still in Robotnik's fortress, trapped in the metal cage. Too bad it all hadn't been just a dream.
How long had he been knocked out, anyway? Tails quickly checked his watch and saw that 6 whole hours had passed! Oh great! He only had an hour before Sonic - no, he didn't even want to think about that right now. Tails grabbed the bars and tried in vain to break out.
Robotnik heard his movements and chuckled with glee, walking towards him, "Hahaha! You foolish brat! Did you actually think you could just walk in here and take the antidote?" He pulled off a cloth on a table, revealing the real Pickmeup flower. He snatched it off the table and held it near Tails' cage, "Was this what you were looking for?"
Tails reached through the bars for it, but Robotnik easily pulled it away, "Ha! Well, you can't have it!" He teased Tails a bit more with it and set the potted plant back down on the lab table.
Tails frowned. He had walked right into a trap! Some hero he was turning out to be. No time to get worried, he told himself - Sonic would be brave. Then I'm gonna be brave too, Tails decided, "You'd better let me out of here, Robotnik!" Tails yanked on the steel bars, "Or you'll be sorry!"
Robotnik leaned on the cage and spoke in a horribly sweet voice, "Oh! Why of course I'll let you out!"
Tails took a step back in surprise, "You will?"
"Yes, I'll let you out... tomorrow... So you can attend Sonic's funeral! AHAHAHA!"
Tails sighed, it was gonna take a some Sonic-style-thinking to get himself out of this mess.
Robotnik then crossed to the wall and pressed a button on the intercom system, "Scratch! Grounder! Report to the laboratory immediately!" he yelled into it.
Within a few seconds, they scrambled into the room, "You called, your preparedness?" Scratch asked.
Robotnik approached them and spoke in a hushed tone - though Tails could still hear what was being said, "I want you two to guard Tails. Don't under ANY circumstances let him escape! Am I making myself clear?"
"Clear as a-uh... a um..." Grounder puzzled and scratched his head.
"Argh! I don't have time for this - I have to ready my scheme to conquer Mobius!" And with that said, he stormed out of the lab.
Tails paced around and thought for a few seconds as the bots watched him. Suddenly an idea came to him. Grounder approached the cage.
"You thought you were soooo sneaky!" Grounder teased, "But we were ready for ya!"
"Oh yeah," Tails replied, "Well, Sonic's gonna bust me outta here any second now!"
"No way," Scratch replied, "He's too sick to come here!"
"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, looking past them and waving his arms madly, "Run!" The two robots immediately spun around.
"What? Where'd he go?" Grounder peered around.
I've just got one shot, better make it good, Tails thought as he pulled out his binoculars and twirled them in the air. He let go of them and they flew towards the control panel.
"It must be a trick!" Scratch replied and turned back towards Tails.
Tails grabbed onto the bars as the binoculars hit the button Robotnik had pushed on the control panel. The cage began to rise up, with Tails hanging on for the ride.
"No!" Scratch yelled, trying to hold the cage down, "Grounder! Push the green button! Hurry!" Scratch couldn't keep it down any longer and went up with the cage, "WHOOOO-HOO-HOO!" One of his hands let go as he slid down on the bars. He kicked his legs around as he tried desperately to climb back up onto the bars.
Tails whirled his Tails and flew out from under the cage. Grounder revved up and raced toward the control panel, pressing the button, "No! Wait!" Scratch called, but it was too late. The cage came crashing down. Scratch let go, and hit the ground first. He squawked as the cage toppled down onto him, "Owww! Don't let him get the antidote!"
Tails swooped down towards the Pickmeup flower sitting on the lab table. Grounder charged towards the table as well, "Oh no you don't!" he said as he turned his right drill into a hand and extended it towards the table. He grasped the plant pot as Tails grabbed onto the other side.
Grounder tried to retract his arm, but Tails continued to hang on and pulled back with all his might, spinning his tails as fast as they could go for some extra momentum.
"Grounder, don't let go!" Scratch called as he tried to lift the cage off of himself.
"OHHH!" Grounder replied as he started revving up his treads and moving backwards, "You better let go, Brat! Cause I'm not gonna give up!"
Tails thought about this, and shrugged, "Okay!" he pulled back a little more and then released the pot.
Grounder's arm went flying back at himself and smacked him in the head, knocking him over. The potted flower flew into the air. Tails zipped towards the plant and caught it just before it smashed onto the floor. He tucked it under his arm and took off towards the door.
"Grounder!" Scratch yelled, "Stop him!" He finally was able to pull himself out from under the heavy metal cage. He scrambled to his feet and chased after Tails.
Grounder started to chase Tails too and tripped over his arm - which hadn't retracted yet. His arm went flying backwards and tripped Scratch as well, "GROUNDER!" Scratch yelled.
Grounder tried to pull his arm back in, but it was stuck, "Scratch! My arm's jammed!"
"Quit complaining!" Scratch bopped him on the head, and leaped to his feet again, "He's getting away!"
"I'd love to stay and play," Tails replied as he opened the lab door, "But I've gotta save the day!" Now that was a way past cool line, he smiled to himself as he slammed the door and high-tailed down the hallway.
To Be Continued...
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A/N: Tails has got the antidote, but will he make it out? He's only got an hour, so he'd better hurry!
=======
A/N: Tails is running out of time! Will he be able to find the antidote! Read on, brave reader!
============
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FOUR:
------
Tails soared over the vast countryside and finally arrived near Robotnik's Fortress. He stayed within the cover of the clouds in the sky and pulled out a pair of binoculars. He spied around until he located an open window, "Cool!"
Tails put away his binoculars and zoomed down towards the window. He glanced around and didn't see any robots or surveillence cameras. He poked his head into the window and looked around the room. No one was in the small room, so Tails decided to go ahead and slip in. He shut the window behind himself and glanced around at the few cardboard boxes that lined the room. He guessed it was some kind of storage room.
Quietly, Tails headed for the door and pressed his ear up to it and listened. He didn't hear anyone in the hallway, so he cautiously opened the door and poked his head out. The hallway was clear, so he sprinted down the hall.
His heart began to beat faster and faster - he couldn't believe he had made it this far into the fortress without running into any trouble! Sonic was way wrong, Tails could handle this mission himself - no sweat! He smiled to himself as he slowly peered into a cross-hallway.
Again, there seemed to be absolutely nothing to block his way. He turned left and continued on, wandering further into the fortress.
* * * *
A few minutes later, Tails heard some voices coming towards him down another hallway. He instinctively leaped into the air and flew up to the ceiling as Scratch and Grounder came around the corner.
"Can't we take a break yet?" Grounder whined, "We've been around the fortress twice already and my treads are killing me!"
"No! Besides, Dr. Robotnik said we only have to be on patrol 'til 'you-know-who' shows up," Scratch replied.
Their voices died out as they rounded another corner and kept going. Tails landed back on the floor, "Ha! They were so busy they didn't even notice me!" Tails exclaimed to himself.
Tails decided to go the way they came from. He seemed to remember the lab being somewhere in the center of the fortress. Of course the fortress gets destroyed practically every week, he thought, so it could have moved around.
The hallway finally emptied into a volumous hall with many corridors and doors leading into it. Tails passed by all the Robotnik family portraits and all the egg-shaped decor towards two large arched double doors. He checked around and, seeing no-one, opened one door just a crack and looked inside. Yes! It was the lab!
Before Tails entered, he quickly scanned the room carefully for any badniks. He didn't see any, so he quietly pushed the door open and scampered in, the door swinging shut behind him.
The lab was full of tables containing different experiments along with piles of robots and machines scattered between them. Tails' sharp eyesight spotted the Pickmeup flower from Professor Von Schlemmer's book sitting on a table in the middle of the room. Tails scurried towards it and tried to grab it, but, surprisingly, his hand went completely through it.
"Huh?" he tried to grab it again, but missed. He then tried to touch the table it was sitting on and his hand went through that too, "What's going-"
Robotnik snuck out from behind a large machine and chuckled evilly. Tails whipped around and saw Robotnik at the console pressing a green button.
Tails started to run when suddenly the objects in front of him dissolved into nothing and a huge metal cage crashed down on top of him, "Hey!" A sudden burst of green gas flooded the cage and Tails toppled over, instantly knocked out.
* * * *
Tails groaned. His head felt like someone had been throwing bricks at it. He strained to open his eyes, and when he succeeded, he found he was still in Robotnik's fortress, trapped in the metal cage. Too bad it all hadn't been just a dream.
How long had he been knocked out, anyway? Tails quickly checked his watch and saw that 6 whole hours had passed! Oh great! He only had an hour before Sonic - no, he didn't even want to think about that right now. Tails grabbed the bars and tried in vain to break out.
Robotnik heard his movements and chuckled with glee, walking towards him, "Hahaha! You foolish brat! Did you actually think you could just walk in here and take the antidote?" He pulled off a cloth on a table, revealing the real Pickmeup flower. He snatched it off the table and held it near Tails' cage, "Was this what you were looking for?"
Tails reached through the bars for it, but Robotnik easily pulled it away, "Ha! Well, you can't have it!" He teased Tails a bit more with it and set the potted plant back down on the lab table.
Tails frowned. He had walked right into a trap! Some hero he was turning out to be. No time to get worried, he told himself - Sonic would be brave. Then I'm gonna be brave too, Tails decided, "You'd better let me out of here, Robotnik!" Tails yanked on the steel bars, "Or you'll be sorry!"
Robotnik leaned on the cage and spoke in a horribly sweet voice, "Oh! Why of course I'll let you out!"
Tails took a step back in surprise, "You will?"
"Yes, I'll let you out... tomorrow... So you can attend Sonic's funeral! AHAHAHA!"
Tails sighed, it was gonna take a some Sonic-style-thinking to get himself out of this mess.
Robotnik then crossed to the wall and pressed a button on the intercom system, "Scratch! Grounder! Report to the laboratory immediately!" he yelled into it.
Within a few seconds, they scrambled into the room, "You called, your preparedness?" Scratch asked.
Robotnik approached them and spoke in a hushed tone - though Tails could still hear what was being said, "I want you two to guard Tails. Don't under ANY circumstances let him escape! Am I making myself clear?"
"Clear as a-uh... a um..." Grounder puzzled and scratched his head.
"Argh! I don't have time for this - I have to ready my scheme to conquer Mobius!" And with that said, he stormed out of the lab.
Tails paced around and thought for a few seconds as the bots watched him. Suddenly an idea came to him. Grounder approached the cage.
"You thought you were soooo sneaky!" Grounder teased, "But we were ready for ya!"
"Oh yeah," Tails replied, "Well, Sonic's gonna bust me outta here any second now!"
"No way," Scratch replied, "He's too sick to come here!"
"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, looking past them and waving his arms madly, "Run!" The two robots immediately spun around.
"What? Where'd he go?" Grounder peered around.
I've just got one shot, better make it good, Tails thought as he pulled out his binoculars and twirled them in the air. He let go of them and they flew towards the control panel.
"It must be a trick!" Scratch replied and turned back towards Tails.
Tails grabbed onto the bars as the binoculars hit the button Robotnik had pushed on the control panel. The cage began to rise up, with Tails hanging on for the ride.
"No!" Scratch yelled, trying to hold the cage down, "Grounder! Push the green button! Hurry!" Scratch couldn't keep it down any longer and went up with the cage, "WHOOOO-HOO-HOO!" One of his hands let go as he slid down on the bars. He kicked his legs around as he tried desperately to climb back up onto the bars.
Tails whirled his Tails and flew out from under the cage. Grounder revved up and raced toward the control panel, pressing the button, "No! Wait!" Scratch called, but it was too late. The cage came crashing down. Scratch let go, and hit the ground first. He squawked as the cage toppled down onto him, "Owww! Don't let him get the antidote!"
Tails swooped down towards the Pickmeup flower sitting on the lab table. Grounder charged towards the table as well, "Oh no you don't!" he said as he turned his right drill into a hand and extended it towards the table. He grasped the plant pot as Tails grabbed onto the other side.
Grounder tried to retract his arm, but Tails continued to hang on and pulled back with all his might, spinning his tails as fast as they could go for some extra momentum.
"Grounder, don't let go!" Scratch called as he tried to lift the cage off of himself.
"OHHH!" Grounder replied as he started revving up his treads and moving backwards, "You better let go, Brat! Cause I'm not gonna give up!"
Tails thought about this, and shrugged, "Okay!" he pulled back a little more and then released the pot.
Grounder's arm went flying back at himself and smacked him in the head, knocking him over. The potted flower flew into the air. Tails zipped towards the plant and caught it just before it smashed onto the floor. He tucked it under his arm and took off towards the door.
"Grounder!" Scratch yelled, "Stop him!" He finally was able to pull himself out from under the heavy metal cage. He scrambled to his feet and chased after Tails.
Grounder started to chase Tails too and tripped over his arm - which hadn't retracted yet. His arm went flying backwards and tripped Scratch as well, "GROUNDER!" Scratch yelled.
Grounder tried to pull his arm back in, but it was stuck, "Scratch! My arm's jammed!"
"Quit complaining!" Scratch bopped him on the head, and leaped to his feet again, "He's getting away!"
"I'd love to stay and play," Tails replied as he opened the lab door, "But I've gotta save the day!" Now that was a way past cool line, he smiled to himself as he slammed the door and high-tailed down the hallway.
To Be Continued...
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A/N: Tails has got the antidote, but will he make it out? He's only got an hour, so he'd better hurry!
=======